Don’t Be a Zombie Consumer

Don't-Get-Caught

In the Student Blogging ChallengeWeek 9, Miss W. asked us to write about a global issue that we would like to help solve.

One of the things that concerns me is the amount of garbage that is everywhere, in our oceans, lakes, streams, landfills, and more. 

Where is all of this garbage coming from? The answer, us, the consumers, who mindlessly buy stuff we don’t need or is cheaply made and breaks as soon as you buy it, and then thrown away.

Since it is almost time for Christmas, the busiest shopping season of the year, it is the perfect time to think about the stuff that we buy.

For me, thinking about what I want for Christmas has been very hard. I don’t really “need” anything, and I know that Christmas should be about being with my family, and it is, but I can’t help the feeling of wanting to see lots of beautifully wrapped presents under the tree. But, I am doing my best to think of things that I would really use, and I am working on making homemade presents for my family, instead of buying them.

Also, I have done a little research about where all of our “stuff” comes from, and one of the things I learned is that companies plan in obsolescence, which means that they make stuff to intentionally break so that you will buy more. How messed up is that?

Another thing I learned is about the true costs of all of the electronic gadgets, which includes “land grabbing,” where people are thrown off their land that they have lived on and farmed for centuries so that the land can be mined for minerals. How horrible!

If the people (corporations) creating our gadgets are so “intelligent,” then why don’t they make them to last? There must be a better way!

  • Sometimes I wonder if it is too late to make any real change in our world. If what I try to do will even make a difference. Does it even matter when there are so many people (corporations) out there that don’t seem to care? Are we doomed?
  • I may not be able to solve all of these problems, but I don’t want to be a mindless, zombie consumer. So, I am trying to be more aware and do what I can to help, like buying only what I need, trying to buy local, recycling, and figuring out ways to make old items new again. Oh, and we don’t buy bottled water any more.
  • If everyone starts caring and changing for the better, I believe we can make a difference!

 

“When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money.”

A Native American Proverb, found on QuoteInvestigator.com:

 

29 thoughts on “Don’t Be a Zombie Consumer

  1. I like your blog warrior kat and would like it if you could follow another class blog called bmscareercenter.edublogs.org

  2. i like your post a lot , kat !! can you check out on my blog too !?!? 😀 that would be awesome if you did . i read your about me page and realised we have a lot of things in common like favorite color blue , acting silly , loving crazy stuff , love christmas , dogs and tomboys !!!! 😀
    toodles !!!,
    the roybel

    • Hi Nikita,

      I’m glad you like my post. If you leave a link to your blog, I’d be happy to check it out. 😀

      Bye,
      Kat 😎

  3. “When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money.”

    Now THAT… is a proverb we can understand.

    I seriously agree.
    Science view.
    Really, It dosen’t matter if you have $100000000000000(trillion),
    You’ll still feel the same, wanting more, thinking that you don’t have enough. (If I’m horribly wrong, then don’t judge…) So there’s this chemical thing-a-ma-bob that makes you happy by passing between…
    I think nerves in the brain? Cant remember… But there are chemical “senders” and “receivers”. So the chemical comes out of the “sender” and
    Enters through the “receivers”. So the happier you are the more chemical gets passed through, making you happy. But if you are contentiously HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY, Then some of the “receivers” start to close up, moderating the happiness.

    Research has shown that people who used to play a sport or something they really loved, then broke a bone or something, crippling them for life, have similar levels of happiness now, even they cant do what they love.
    You may have experienced something like this.

    (Gets new toy)

    “OMG MUM I LUV U!!!!!”

    3 days later…
    Toy becomes boring.

    Something like that.
    So 2 things.
    Something like this, except with “ads are stupid” (On my blog, Irony is, im advertising… WOT.)
    http://devonroom10.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/lots-of-tv-ads-are-plain-stupid-and.html#comment-form

    A video to properly explain this…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BTGgCEFuQw

    Just copy-paste into top bar thingy. XD

    Heart view
    Really.

    WE’RE STUFFED.

    • Yeah, it’s a pretty interesting video. By the way, I checked out your post about advertising; it was very cool.

      Bye,
      Kat 😎

  4. Dear Warrior Cat,
    This post was amazing because it got the word out about how to be more careful as consumers of products and how trash can be terrible for the earth. Keep making great post. 🙂

  5. Hi Warrior Kat,
    I love your blog so much and I think that this is a great post. I have always wondeed what the world will be like in a few years and if we will ever be able to change it.

    I also really love your header, it’s so cute!

    Bye,
    Erica

  6. Such an accurate video ( The wake up call ) it was. Your message truly speaks of what our precious world is suffering from today. I liked how there were short yet entertaining paragraphed and I also liked the ending quote. Keep on going 👍🏻👍🏻😊😊

  7. Greetings,
    Truer words were never said. The video itself is such an accurate representation of what humanity’s future would look like. If we all join arms and spread the message, I’m sure we humans can make a substantial difference, changing our bleak wasteful days of consumption into those with actual meaning.
    Sincerely,
    Señor Fluffy

  8. Amazing way of delivering such meaningful an amazing and meaningful message. Love the video and quote at the end. You really talked to m conscious.

  9. Dear warrior Cat,
    I like how you realized that all these iPhones can cause danger to our world. This is very inspirational. Did you know that The production of iPhones cause pollution as well as destruction to our planet. Did you make that video yourself its really cool? I hope the world will not end up like that in a few years But, it starts with us we are the new generation so its up to you and me and everyone to change our world.

    From a commenter,
    Reuvi

  10. Dear Warrior Cat,

    Thank you for showing me the importance of conservation. You are very descriptive when explaining the problem of wasting. I never knew that people waste so much. My question, is why did you want to talk about waste?
    From,
    Izzy

  11. Dear Warrior Kat,
    I loved the video Wake Up Call. It was very detailed and was also funny. I learned something very important in this video and i hope to learn more. How did you come up with this video?

    From,
    Adam

  12. I love the quote at the bottom it made me realize sometimes money can’t buy you happiness and that we should be more helpful to the environment so that doesn’t happen. I loved that you spoke the truth and that you didn’t just say the world was lolly jolly and told us we need to make a change.

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